


Visitation

by Aloisi



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Gen, major spoilers for The Last Hope, this was originally written shortly after it came out actually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-23 20:29:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6129126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aloisi/pseuds/Aloisi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Princess dreams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Visitation

**Author's Note:**

> As far as I know, Princess and the other kittypets back in the old forest never found out what happened to the Clans and that is a Problem so I wrote this a little over two years ago. I did some editing and changed stuff to make it better and make Princess sound more like herself.

She jolted awake from her usual afternoon nap, tabby fur prickling, claws unsheathed and digging into the soft bedding of her basket. Slowly, she shook each paw to dislodge the fuzz from her blanket. A glance out the window showed her it was sunset. That afternoon nap had lasted far longer than she'd intended; Princess had planned to patrol her garden before sunset.

Faintly, she could recall the odd dream she'd been having. What had it been about? It must have been something, if it managed to wake her up like that. Thinking hard, she could remember fire and darkness and death.

And hope.

The last hope.

A chill ran through her and she wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep and attempt to recapture the fleeting threads of her dream. It was obviously important, so important even she, with her weak kittypet instincts, could feel it.

Princess closed her eyes, and willed herself back to sleep. It wasn't as hard as she had expected it to be.

Suddenly she found herself surrounded by starlight. It twinkled high above her, shone in the grass, flowed with the water. For some reason, she felt a sense of peace and security, which was strange. She was sitting near the edge of a meadow she'd never seen before in her life with no idea which way she needed to go to get home.

_I must have a very good imagination to dream this up_ , she decided, getting to her paws and looking around for any signs of other cats. She could hear the squeaks and scampers of prey rummaging for food and sweet birdsong like she heard on sunny newleaf mornings.

But there were no cats to be found.

_Wait, Cloudtail told me I'm more likely to smell other cats than see them._

Princess raised her muzzle and drew in a breath. Almost at once she was assaulted by all sorts of scents, some vaguely familiar, but most not.

"Hello?" she called, stepping further into the meadow. "Is anyone there?"

A few heartbeats passed before she picked up the sound of footsteps and a cat appeared to her, a gray she-cat with intelligent, pale blue eyes. Stars glimmered in her fur and flickered in her eyes. Something about the gray cat seemed almost familiar, but Princess couldn't seem to place her.

"Greetings, Princess."

The tabby dipped her head awkwardly in response, still unsure who was speaking to her.

"I figured you wouldn't remember me. The first time we met, I was hardly more than a kit. My name is Cinderpelt," the gray she-cat continued, smiling when she saw Princess's eyes light up.

"You're Cinderpaw, aren't you? Firestar's first apprentice? He told me all about you..." she began, voice trailing off when she noticed the other cat's stance. "Your leg was hurt in an accident on the thunderpath, wasn't it? Firestar said you couldn't be a warrior."

Cinderpelt padded closer, letting out a soft laugh. "That's true, but StarClan heals what was broken when we join them," she explained, walking toward the wood behind Princess and motioning with her tail for the tabby she-cat to follow.

Hold on.

_StarClan? I'm in StarClan?_

Princess had never really believed in what her brother did, but she'd listened when he explained what happened to warriors when they died. To be honest, she had thought it was silly, but didn't have the heart and thought it would be rude to say as much.

"How did I get here?" Princess queried, hurrying after the starry cat. The scent of fresh, growing plants drew her further in. She'd never had much of a desire to venture into the forest once she knew how dangerous it was, but ever since it had been destroyed by the twolegs she found herself missing it along with the kin that had gone seeking a new home.

Glancing over her shoulder, Cinderpelt replied, "He wanted to speak with you."

"Who?"

"Firestar."

She froze, ice washing over her heart and freezing her paws

"But Firestar can't be here," she meowed hollowly. "He's. He's not..."

Cinderpelt hurried back and stood next to the shaking tabby. Princess felt fur brush hers in a comforting way as Cinderpelt quietly lapped at her ear.

"He died in battle, a true warrior's death," Cinderpelt meowed solemnly. "He saved all the Clans from destruction."

Princess held back a whimper and forced herself to stand tall. She had to be brave.  She could be upset later.  Her brother was waiting on her.

“I'm okay,” she muttered, shifting her paws on the lush grass. “Lead on, please.”

Cinderpelt smiled softly and continued on. Princess took a moment to admire her surroundings. The scuttling of prey filled the area, tempting her away from the path and making her paws itch to chase something. She'd tried mouse once, and though it was pretty good she didn't have much motivation to hunt them aside from the occasional treat.  She had food from her housefolk anyway, and there were rogues who needed the fresh-kill.

“We're here,” Cinderpelt called, pulling to the side to reveal a small clearing with a large oak tree in the center.  Patches of moss dotted the area. Princess jolted out of her thoughts and padded after her, giving the gray she-cat a confused look before she noticed the ginger tom sitting before her.

“Firestar!” Princess cried, charging forward. She practically tackled him, licking his cheek enthusiastically and purring.

Her brother laughed and nuzzled her chin. “Hello, Princess. I'm glad you came.”

Princess took a hesitant step back.

“So it's true, then," she meowed.

“Yes.”

“You died.”

“Yes.”

There was a moment of awkward silence before Princess asked, “How? Cinderpelt said you died in battle.”  The "and you're the strongest cat I know" went unspoken.

Firestar nodded slowly. “The cats of the Dark Forest attacked us. I fought Tigerstar one final time. In the end, neither of us survived.”

Princess didn't know what this Dark Forest was, but it didn't sound good at all.

It suddenly dawned on Princess what she was meant to do.

“You need me to tell everyone,” she said. “Smudge. And Cody and Hattie, too.”

Her brother smiled sheepishly, dipping his head slightly. “If you don't mind.”

“Of course I don't!” She scoffed. “This is important. They deserve to know.” She lowered her voice before adding, “You meant a lot to us, especially Smudge. He misses you.”

Firestar raised his head and locked gazes with her. “Tell them I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye. That I had to leave them.”

“Of course.” Princess replied, watching as the world seemed to ripple around her.

“Goodbye, Princess. I hope this won't be the last time we speak.”

Princess opened her mouth to reply, but found her voice was gone. Suddenly she was blinking the side of her basket into focus. A look out the window told her it was around moonhigh.

She had a long rest of the night and an even longer day ahead of her.


End file.
